Catatonic
by fullmoonmidget
Summary: What if...Bella never came out of her catatonic state?What if... noone could stand to see her like that,and she was placed in a mental institution in Seatle?What if...a doctor came to help with a hopeless case.What if...he was a vampire? on hiatas
1. Chapter 1

Singer

Charles p.o.v.-

I looked up at the building. It was gloomy. I think the many years serving as a mental institution had taken its toll on the once beautiful townhouse. I don't know why this particular institution pulled me to it, there were many in Seattle, but it did. I was coming here to help. The doctors were having problems with some of the patients, normal, but one of them was…not. They said they had a patient that there was no hope for. They had all but given up on her. And I wasn't going to allow that. 

I entered the building and looked around. It was beautiful. The architecture was lovely, and if it had been cared for properly, it would have been a luxury even today. The smells coming down the halls were lovely. Flowers, foods, there were a couple not so lovely smells. And then there was one. It was wonderful. The most beautiful smell I'd experienced in a long time. The Volturri told me once, singing. Someone's blood was singing for me. I want to get to know them. No. Dangerous thoughts. I was here to help, not feed. I didn't drink human blood. It had been a long time since I had. A century, I believe. I only tasted the blood of a human once. I had slipped up after a century of animal blood. I had found someone with irresistible blood. This blood was better. It smelt like freesia, I think.

I had to find Dr. Freeman, though. He was the one that was supposed to show me around, to my assignments. I went to the front desk and asked for Dr. Freeman. The person there, another doctor, was just about to page him when a man shouted my name from behind.

"Dr. Smiles! How wonderful to see you. Was your trip well?" Dr. Freeman asked.

I turned around to greet him and gave him a quick handshake. To long and he would ask why I was so damn cold. "Oh, it was wonderful. This place… The architecture is beautiful. So… what now?"

"I'm going to show you to your quarters, leave you to settle in, and I'll be back just before dinner to show you around. Alright?"

"That'll work out just perfectly, thank you." I replied, glad for the chance to collect myself. I had been traveling for a while. Away from humans and it had been nearly a week since I had hunted. I needed a break from the overwhelming scent of blood.

**A.N.: This is only rated T cuz it would be. I feel kids understand much more than people give them credit for. I should know, only just having turned 13 myself. anyway, this is just the first chapter. will be longer. i love reviews. this is hopefully going to be pretty long. i have hopes, because this is the first time i've been able to write a _could-have_ instead of a _might-be_. so... there u go. ENJOY!**


	2. Assignments

Assignment

Charles pov

My room, like all the staffs', was on the third floor. There was a communal bathroom not far. A couple doors down. There were two rooms to my quarters. A bedroom and an office. My office was open to anyone. Well, most of the time. I could lock it if I wanted time to just look over my patients' reports or something. Other than that, someone could come in if they wanted to talk or I could have my patients' come up for a chat. Same thing, except I'd be doing a lot more of the latter. Something told me I hadn't been called here because the patients liked to talk.

There was approximately 2 hours before Dr. Freeman would be up, so I used normal human speed to unpack. It was slow going, but it kept me busy. I then rearranged the room so it would be more…attuned to what I would be doing in here. Absolutely nothing. I would use my office for most of my reading, as that was where my files were. I didn't sleep, so the bed was useless. There was a T.V. in there, for down time. I didn't like using up valuable time with mind-rotting television shows. Time that could be used helping humans. Or hunting. Or… anything else. So, that was nixed. The items that were useless were basically piled in the corner of the room.

The armchair was comfortable, however. I decided that I may spend some time in here after all. I knew my office wouldn't fit this. So I left that next to the bookshelf and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up and changed. Traveling takes its toll on my clothes. I still looked as vampire-beautiful as ever, but my clothes were filthy. I then went into my office.

It was simple, outdated, and classic. It seems to have been built around the time I was born. I loved the 1800's. I had fully embraced the culture, and was sad to see it left in the dust. This reminded me of home. It had mahogany paneling and the walls were surrounded in bookshelves. There were two filing cabinets behind my desk. Full of patients' information, I supposed. There was a small couch. More of a love seat, really. And two chairs in front of my desk. My chair was a simple office chair with a high back. I would definitely be using that armchair often. I liked to be comfortable. It relaxed and rejuvenated.

I had loved sleeping in my human life, and that was still one of the few things I missed about being human. That and food. I had been a typical boy. Food, sleep, girls. I had given up on girls before my change, however. When my heart had stopped beating. When I died inside. My true love had left me. I was left lifeless. I wandered around day in and day out. Rarely eating, not sleeping. And that's how the vampire found me. I didn't even have the strength to scream. I don't know why I was left. Maybe my lack of a struggle turned her off. Maybe she thought I was dead. I very nearly was. It didn't take the full three days. It still hurt that long, but the process was complete before the third day had even started.

Those three days had been a relief, though. I had been so focused on the physical pain the emotional anguish I had been in had ceased. I could still remember her, hear her laugh, see her twinkling blue eyes, smell her rose scented skin. It hurt every moment of every day. And that's why I did this. Why I helped these people. They were all in pain. And I could help them. So I did. My power made it easier to help. I rarely spent more than a week on one patient. My power was to FEEL. I could feel what they were feeling, and see the reason behind it. No guess work. After that all that was to be done was to convince them to get better, move on. Like nobody had done for me.

It was now just before what would be "dinner". I would go down, pretend to eat, and then he would show me around. I hated eating. It was disgusting now, and it reminded me of my old life. With her. I shook it off. Every time I went to a new place, smelt new people, I was reminded of her. I decided long ago I wasn't going to be ruled by this, that I was going to move on, live as normal a life as a vampire could. So I went outside, where I met Dr. Freeman.

"Good evening. Settled in? I hope you found your quarters alright?" he asked, ever the host.

"Yes, yes of course. They're wonderful. Would you mind terribly if we went over my patients while we were eating? Its just I really want to get started."

"Of course, of course. I've got them right here. I'll show you some of the place on our way to the cafeteria."

So we started walking. Back to the first floor. Down the steps. Into a brightly lit room that was once a dingy basement. It was very colorful. Of course, if the patients were well enough to come here, they wanted to be sure they would not slip. If they were well enough to come here, they were almost fixed. We got some food, I just barely enough to make it look feasible; and sat down. He took out a rather large folder. He showed me the first one.

"Marie Nicole Sanders" he said, handing me her file. "Was found last year in her bathtub, blade in hands. She was near death, we think she might have stopped breathing for a while, causing brain damage. Whatever the case, she has extreme clausterphobia, and Scelerophobia, which, because of the severity of the case, translates into Hominophobia."

She had been very pretty. Blonde hair, blue eyes, just like… no. Stop thinking about that. Time to get to work. Her hair was luscious, bouncy. Her eyes sparkled with happiness.

That was the before picture. There was another picture, taken just a week ago. Her hair was limp, greasy and dry. It was thin, like it had been pulled out. She looked like she hadn't eaten in months. Her eyes were scared. She was terrified, of everything.

Something bad happened to her. She had been so happy. She seemed like the Homecoming Queen type. Something drastic had happened to get her in that bathtub.

"Any boyfriends?" I asked. Strange, her file didn't say anything about that.

"No, she didn't have any. We asked her mother, she said that Marie wanted to wait for college to date."

"But she was popular."

"Oh yes, extremely so. Homecoming Queen. Everyone liked her. Except the few that were jealous. But even they didn't hate her. She was charismatic. It was impossible to hate her. She was nice, comfortable, and happy. Then one day they found her like that."

"What was she found in?" I asked. This could be the tell-tale detail. The one they had overlooked.

"Her bathrobe. It was shut tightly. I don't know what that would mean, though."

"I do, I'll talk to her early tomorrow morning. Next."

"Anna Nicole Robinson" He handed me her paper as well. " 13. Ligyrophobia, Photophobia. She's been here since she was 4. Sits in a dark room all day. Won't say anything. Everything is loud. So, of course, she's scared of everything."

"Conditions under which she was brought in?"

"Father. Mother recently left. He hasn't heard from her since. Comes in once a month to check on her. Very nice man. Says she just started screaming in the middle of the nights, right after her mom left. Don't know what that could have to do with lights and loud noises. We think she just was too attached to her mother for her own good. Collapsed when she left."

I had a very faint idea what had happened, but I wasn't going to say anything until I had talked to her. It was very far-fetched.

He went through the folder. Time and time again I asked simple questions, and got an almost thorough understanding of the cases. They would all seem hard, to those who didn't know what questions to ask, to those who hadn't seen each case hundreds of times in hundreds of years. I knew I could handle all of these. They were simple enough. He thought he was giving me a challenge. I doubt he could figure these out, that didn't mean I couldn't. I had already solved half and had a good idea on the others. We had been sitting there for about an hour and a half, and he was on his last case.

"No. I don't know how she got in here. This case is impossible." He set the paper-clipped stack aside. I grabbed it.

"I don't think so. I'll try it. Even if it doesn't work, no harm done."

He sighed and briefed me.

"Isabella Swan, 18. She is a new addition, admitted just months ago. Apparently her boyfriend left. She shut down. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. Just sat there. Her mother came up to take her back to Jacksonville, thinking a change of pace would be good. Get her away from all of this. She just sat there. They couldn't make her move. It was like she was locked to her bed. When they told her she was leaving she jus said no. They persisted and she screamed it at them. That was the last thing she said. She just lies on her bed. She won't move, I haven't seen her sleep, though I know she does, about once a week. We feed her through an IV when she's sleeping. Only way to get some nutrients in her."

I looked at the case. It was bad. I knew what had happened, of course. She had found him. Her one true love. Just like I thought I had found, once. He had promised her forever, and then left. She had dealt with it much like I had. She just hadn't come out of it. That's what I was here for.

"Can I see her now?"

He looked surprised. He stammered, trying to come up with an answer. "I… I'm not sure…. That that would…. Be to good … and idea." There, he said it.

"I'll find her. It would just be easier for you to show me. I'm going to help her. It's my job. And I think I can do something for her. Just let me help." I pleaded with him. What was I doing? I don't know why I was so desperate. I could just find her tomorrow. But I felt the need to find her tonight, while most people were sleeping.

"I'm not sure… We normally don't waste anyone but her nurse to help. She's in the helpless ward. The people with irreversible diseases. All we do is make them comfortable. We couldn't condone you to spend time on her when you have other patients."

"I'll get my other patients done. I'll work with her on my own time. I have plenty of it. I'm an insomniac. I get by on very little sleep. I just feel the need to help her. Bring me to her."

"Alright… on your own time. But shouldn't you get some sleep before starting? Start tomorrow?" He was obviously still hesitant.

"No, just show me the way to her room. I want to talk to her tonight."

He stood up and motioned me to follow. We went up the stairs. The first floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor. And we reached the attic. Out of sight, out of mind. Then I smelt it. That smell. Freesias. Beautiful. I stopped breathing for a moment. Just thought.

"I'm not sure this is the best idea, but her father is paying for every chance he can get, so… I'll show you to her room, and then I'll be in my office. If you need help, or want to rescind your offer… I'll be down there."

I rolled my eyes behind his back. Need help. Ha! He should ask me for help. But he didn't know that I was over 200 years old. He saw some young face, fresh out of college, looking like he had never worked a day in his life. Nobody looked deep enough into my eyes to see the truth. It would be detrimental if they did. So he could see it, however, I simply nodded.

He opened a door, knocking as he did so. I started breathing again, it took to much thought to stop.

I looked inside. This was where it was coming from. The whole room was filled with the scent of Freesias. This was where my singer lived.

A.N. Alright, much longer. I'm happy with this. If you want to know about Marie and Anna, just ask. I'll let you know. I know what happened, and why they're like they are. Took me a while to find a BIT of diversity. I'm not sure if that'll come up now that our characters have been introduced. I think I'll start next chapter with a short Bella view. NO, this is not going to turn out to be a Charles/ Bella. No way. anything other than B/E is wrong. I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed last chapter, particularly a review from **migamoo**. I thought this review was so brilliant and well thought out that i'd do something i swore I'd never do: answer the questions.

so, here it goes: they commented on realism. I'd like to say this is a fanfic. poor excuse. But he pops up every few years, has a short career, and disapears. It happens all the time with brilliant doctors. He uses very different names. So no reason for the Cullens to know him.

Secondly, the names. I'm sorry, i'm terribly bad at coming up with names. i'm guilty in this chapter as well. I stole Anna Nicole from Anna Nicole Smith, and I just watched Meet the Robinsons. So... any ideas for names i'd love to have. Also, Charles comes up with these names by himself. He's had dozens of names, and i'd assume he's getting tired of it.

As to the comment about singers: i decided spur of the moment to add this. I'm sorry if it seems unrealistic. I just felt a need to tie him to her some way. And, as i added to this chapter, he is over 200 years old, and he is not a doctor persay, he is a psyciatrist. So he doesn't have to deal with blood.

I added a plot here that i hadn't even thought about. Anyone who guesses gets a cookie. No, not really, but we'll pretend, alright? Umm... I actually looked up the special phobias. i found a cool place, and the definitions are at the bottom. So, thanks to this insanely long authors note, you've spent much to long on here. But i beg of you to review! again, thanks to **migamoo** and **Julie**(still can't remember ur screen name)

Scelerophobia- Men, bad or burglars or being harmed by wicked persons

Hominophobia-Men

Ligyrophobia- Loud Noises

Photophobia-Light


End file.
